“Nobody wants to be here,” said Pearson. “I don’t think anybody wants to live outside on a sidewalk. You go back to what’s familiar and what you know. If the streets are all you know and the people are all that are on it, yeah, you’re gonna keep coming back.”

Pearson has been a hairdresser since he was 17 and owned his own salon right after school. For the past 18 years, he’s offered haircuts for fellow homeless people in California.

“For some reason, when you’re in a position and you’re applying for assistance or help, they always make you feel less-than, or not as important, or like a bum,” said Pearson.

That’s why he believes homeless people deserve to get their hair and makeup done.

“If you feel good about yourself, it’s amazing what you can do,” said Pearson. “If you really feel good, it’s amazing what you can do with it.”